urge parliamentary scrutiny of the state within a state of the Khakis, especially the dreaded spy agency (DGFI). The interference of the Khakis into state politics will once again jeopardize institutionalization of elective democracy, good governance and secularism. The rogues fear social justice activists, critics, politicians and journalists too - Joy Manush!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Dhaka sit-in evokes Tahrir Square spirit

Protesters in Bangladesh
capital demand death penalty for those involved in atrocities during liberation
war in 1971.

People in this country of 150 million first fought for their
language, then independence, and again for an end of military rule. Now
protesters gathering in central Dhaka believe
they are fighting for a return of liberalism and secularism - and death to alleged
war criminals from decades past.

A slogan in Bengali has been frequently shouted at the busy Shahbagh Square to
annonce that the area is now the epicentre for change in Bangladesh:
“Tomar aamar thikana, Shahbagher Mohona” or "your address, my address,
Shahbagh Square".

Tens of thousands have gathered here in recent days
demanding reform, and protesters believe the scenes are reminiscent of the
uprising in Cairo’s
Tahrir Square
that led to the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Another slogan often chanted is “Shahbagh does not sleep.”
True, it doesn't these days. There is no room to rest for starters, and
loudspeakers are constantly blaring.

Amid frequent calls for death to all war criminals, Shahbagh
is alive with songs, poetry, film and street plays. The cultural muscle of
Bengali nationalism is on raging display.

Punishing past
atrocities

On February 5, one of Bangladesh’s
two war crimes tribunals announced a life sentence for a leader of the
Jamaat-e-Islami group, Abdul Quader Mollah, who had been accused of mass murder
and rape during the 1971 civil war.

Many had wished for and expected a harsher punishment - a
sentence of death. Messages flew fast and furious across social networking
sites, mobile phones and by word of mouth. By that evening, thousands of mostly
young men and women had gathered at Shahbagh, one of Dhaka’s
busiest areas, to protest the perceived light sentence.

“Death for Quader Mollah,” they shouted, as more people
converged on the square.

Two weeks have passed and the crowds
have not gone away. In fact the numbers have steadily grown and those gathered
are urging more Bangladeshis to come and show their support. Shahbagh has even
been given the new name Projonmo Chattor, or Generation Square, to reflect the
driving force of the movement, the youth of Bangladesh.

“This is the generation who have not experienced the
Liberation War, but who appear to be as determined to uphold its secular and
liberal spirit,” says Jogesh Sarkar, who fought as a guerrilla for the Mukti
Bahini, or Liberation Army, against Pakistani soldiers and their allies.

Jamaat-e-Islami opposed the
break-up of Pakistan and the
independence of Bangladesh
in 1971. In the bloody civil war that followed, its activists in large numbers
allegedly joined irregular military units and fought alongside the Pakistani
army.

The group’s members are believed responsible for some of the
most horrendous atrocities committed during the eight-month war, which killed
between 2.5 to 3 million people. Rape was routinely used as a weapon.

“We now want the death penalty for all war criminals. We
want a ban on the politics of religious fundamentalism. We want a ban on the
Jamaat-e-Islami,” says Imran H Sarker of the Bloggers and Online Activists
Network, one of the leaders of the Shahbagh protest.

But Moulana Rafiqul Islam Khan, the general secretary of
Jamaat, said the protests were part of a plot to create anarchy and force the
tribunals to give verdicts as per its dictate.

“We want to clearly state that the people of the country
won't let the government implement its plot chalked out to take its political
revenge,” he said.

Coup derails
tribunals

After the vicious civil war,
the first government of the independent country enacted the International
Crimes Tribunals Act in 1973, to try those responsible for the “crimes against
humanity”.

But a coup in 1975 led to the assassination of Bangladesh’s first
prime minister, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, and the military rulers not only shelved
the trials of those accused of war crimes, but allowed many of them to return
to ordinary life.

Jamaat-e-Islami was even allowed to register as a legitimate
political party. Mujib’s party, the Awami League, swept parliamentary
elections in December 2008, and his daughter Sheikh Hasina became prime
minister.

True to her pre-election pledge, Hasina’s government
constituted two war crimes tribunals under the 1973 law - one that began work
in 2010 and the other two years later.

Besides Mollah, eight other
leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and two of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) are now on the dock, standing trial for crimes against humanity
allegedly committed during the 1971 war.

“At last, the nation feels some justice is being done.
Nobody here wants these war criminals to get away lightly,” says Shahriar
Kabir, whose organisation Committee for the Elimination of the Killers and
Collaborators of 1971 have pushed for the tribunals since the mid-1990s, after
democracy was restored in Bangladesh.

The demonstration has not been entirely peaceful. Ten days
after the protests started in Shahbagh, one of its leading figures, Ahmed Rajib
Haider, was killed near his house in Dhaka’s
Mirpur locality.

An architect by profession and passionate blogger, many
believe Rajib represented the form and spirit of the Shahbagh protest, which is
largely led by young professionals and students.

Struggle for the
future

Lucky Akhtar, one of the main
demonstration organisers, says there is more to the protests than just holding
those to account for war crimes committed more than 40 years ago.

“The movement is led not by politicians but by those who
feel concerned about Bangladesh’s future, those who want the country to return
to the secular and liberal spirit of the Liberation War, those who believe in
humanity, those who want Bangladesh to be distinctively its own self,” she
says.

The movement will go far because it has risen above partisan
politics, Akhtar says. “We have touched the soul of the nation.”

Akhtar says the government will have to ban Jamaat-e-Islami
and all its affiliates, and finally nationalise its considerable assets.

“The Jamaat and its brand of religion-driven politics has to
be eliminated from our soil. It is the unfinished agenda of the Liberation
War,” she says.

The government has reacted swiftly to keep pace with the
popular mood. Prime Minister Hasina and her party leaders have expressed
solidarity with the Shahbagh demonstrators. “I am here but my heart is at
Shahbagh,” she told parliament this week.

The government has hinted at a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, and
thousands of its activists have been arrested for acts of violence during a
series of general strikes the Islamist party sponsored over the last few
months.

An amendment to the 1973 crimes tribunal act was also
recently passed in parliament, where the ruling Awami League-led coalition
enjoys a huge majority. The amendment allows the government to appeal Quader
Mollah’s life sentence and request the death penalty.

The legislation will now allow the war crimes tribunals to
try organisations and political parties for alleged crimes committed during the
war of independence.

Conspiracy to
destroy Jamaat?

The opposition has denounced
the parliamentary amendment, describing it as politically motivated. Jamaat
leader Islam Khan says the government is clearly out to destroy his party.

The party has accused Prime Minister Hasina of backing the
Shahbagh protests for possible electoral gains. Whipping up nationalistic
sentiments and banning Jamaat - an important ally of the BNP - would seriously
dent the opposition ranks and hand her the advantage in the run up to next
year's elections.

The Shahbagh protesters, however, deny any ties to the
government.

Many of Bangladesh’s
most important historical moments have roots at Shahbagh. The rise of the
Bengali-language movement, the call for independence by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman,
and the surrender ceremony of the Pakistan army all happened within a
few kilometers of the square.

Some observers say the current Shahbagh occupation could
also be a defining moment for Bangladesh.

“History has a habit of repeating itself in Bangladesh,”
says historian Sagar Lohani.

Journalist Haroon Habib, who also fought as a guerrilla
during the 1971 war, says the Shahbagh demonstration is a struggle between
secular Bengali nationalism against Islamic radicalism.